Tobacco-spring machine.



1. opMoams. TOBACCO STRIPPING MACHINE.

APPLICATICN FILED OCT. 7| 19H.

Patented Feb. 26,1918` 3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

SIHUCIM v fm awa-mrs, 5MM

wif c A5 co APPLlcATfuN mili ocr. I. 19H.

1, oK MORRIS.,v TUBACCO STRPPING MACHINE.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Patented Feb. 26, 1918.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIoE'.

JOHN O. MORRIS, 0F WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ASSIGNOR T0 PLANTERS STEMMING COMPANY, OF WILMINGTON WARE.

, DELAWARE, A CORPORATION OF DELA- TOBACCO-STRIPPING MACHINE.

To all rwhom it may concern.'

Be it known that l", JOHN O. Momus, a citizen of the United States., residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Tobacco-Stripping Machines, of which the following is a specification. l

This invention relates tol machines for stripping tobacco leaves, that is to say, for automatically performing the operation of extracting the stems from thefleaves, or of stripping the leavesfrom the stems, which is now ordinarily performed by .han-d.

v I am aware that machines for the said purpose have heretofore been proposed and patented and, in some instances, have actually been built. I refer to such machines as are disclosed in United States Patents Nos.

1,073,853 to H. uHebig, 1,087,039 to my self, and 1,103,641 to W. G. "Woodcock, jr.

All 'of these machinescomprise a. pair of stemming or stripping rollers, between which the tobacco leaves'are draw-n by grippers engaging their stems. This construction necessitates the separation of the rollers to permit-the grippers to pass through, and returning them to operative position imn mediat'ely thereafter, otherwise -a portion of the leaf, adjacent to the butt end ot the stem, will not'be acted upon by the rollers but be wasted. The consequence is that, in order t0 avoid such Waste, the rollers must be returned before th'e grippers have entirely;l passed therebetween, so that the teeth on the 'roller strike the rear ends' of thel grippers and soon become so much bent and distorted that they no longer perform their function of stripping the leaf, which Wenders it necessary to stop .the machine and substitute freshrollers.

The 'mach1ne,wh1ch constitutes my presentinvention, works upon an entirely different. rinciv le from that of the machines referrer to a ove, and entirely obviates the dilliculty or defect in practical operation which I have just described. l Not only is the durability' of theleafstripping meansgreatly enhanced, but the machine is much simpler in its.' mechanism Specification of Letters Patent. I Patented Feb, 26, 1918,

. I l y i Application led October 7, 1914. Serial No. 865,528.

' and, consequently, cheaper in `first cost and v which automatically feeds the leaves tothe stem-grippers, is also the leaf-stripping means, and is given an intermittent move- 'ment so that it remains stationary while a pair of the grippers seize the stems and pull them out of the leaves, and then moves bodily forward again sufficiently, vbefore another pair of grippers comes around, to present' the stems of another s'et of leaves to the same.

This means is', in the embodiment oir'A the invention Awhich I have at present devised and which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in the form of an endless belt of sufficient width to supportthe leaves thereon and having attached to its outer face, adjacent to one edge, a. narrow strip of card cloth, or the like, constituting the stripping means. The drums which carry and drive this belt have their shaft axis inclined upwardly, considered from thefront ofthe .machine, so thatthe edge of the belt carry' ing the said stripping means is higher than the other edge. The 'pper bars vare carried, as in the said prior machines, by end-' less chains and are brought into ,conjunction close to the said higher edge. The chains are driven continuously while the belt is given an intermittent movement through a I nl 1ti` lated-gear connection with the chain-drlving means. Another belt of less width is mountl ed above the said higher edge of the main 'belt and is caused to move in unison 'with the latter, its purpose being tohold the leaves down on the stripping means .while the, grippers are withdrawing the stems. AThe shafts 'of the drums carrying this smaller belt are inclined reversely to those of the main belt, so that the space between the twobelts is V-shaped in cross section,

chine, while scription.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view, on a larger scale of the two belts and the gripper mechanism.

The gripper bars 5, 5, are carried by the endless chains 6, 6, passing around the sprocket, wheels'mounted on shafts which are journaled in the side frames 1, 1. This part 'of the machine is substantially like the corresponding parts of the said patented machines and will readily be understood from `the drawing without an extendedl de- The principal difference in the present construction is that1 While the chains pass over large sprocket Wheels 4, 1, at the rear end of the machine, and which are 'geared together and driven from a suitable source of power, 4shown-asfa belt pulley and pinion, at the'front end the chains pass over small sprocket wheels 3, 3, of which there are two pairs for each chain, the object'being 'to reduce the distance which the stems must projectover the edge of the belt in order to be seized by the gripper-bars carried by said chains. It will readily be seen that, if `the sprocket Wheels at the front end were asu large asthose at the rear end, or as those shown in 'the said patents, the meeting' plane of the pairs of grippenba'r Swould be consid erably farther away from` the edge of the belt than when the smaller sprocket wheels of the present machine'are used.

The uppermost pair of the said small sproeketjvheels 3, 3, Aare carried on a shaft 18,. which extends through from one'side frame to' the other, and the same is true of the shaft 9 of the lowermost sprocket wheels, and each ov said shafts extends beyond one of said side frames and is,operatively'connected to the belt-driving mechanism, hereinafter to be described.

lThe chains 6,6 run inl guides formed in the 4central ,members'10,- 10, of the: side frames 1,11;V whereby' the `cooperating l' pairs ofgripperbars 5,'5, are caused toinalntam a firmfgrip; on' the stems wliile they are pulling them outof the leaves, andthe backs ofthe gripper bars are trussshaped,.. as shown ati-11, "to prevent tlieirsprnging apart'in their center portions:

"It 'will be noticed that thedntermediate pairs of sprocket wheels Baareetarther Vadvanced, Vtoward the front of themachine,

air of small i l vbelt is mounted 1n asimilar yoke-frame 24,

than the upper and lower pairs, the purpose of this being to bring the paths of the gripper-bars, as they approach each other, asV

close as possible to the edge of the feeding and stripping belt 12, so that said bars will seize hold of the stems projecting over the edge of ,said belt, as shown in" Fig. 4, without the necessity of advancing the leaves,

transversely ofthe belt, to cause the stems to be seized by the gripperbars, as they come together.

13 represents the strip of card cloth, or the like, carried upon the rear and higher 1 edge of the belt 12 and which constitutes the means for retaining the leaves while the stems are pulled out, in other words, the

means for stripping the leaves from the' which carry the belt, have their'shafts in-4 clined upwardly from the front to rear, both for the purpose of making the plane of pull on the stems atan angle to the plane of the f y stripping means, as Well as to provide sufficient space for the stripped leaves between the surface of the belt 12 and that of the belt 17, which is reversely inclined, and has a roughened surface 18 on its inner edge to assist in holding 'the leaves down upon the stripping means 13. Said surface may be a strip of card cloth, a piece of rubber, or

even the surface of the 'belt itself. vThefbelt,

17, which extends onlyin front o f that por tion of the machine which carries the grip pcrbars, is carried by the 'drums 19 and20, the shafts of which are mounted in a pair of cast yoke-frames 21, 21, hung upon the shaft 8 and held in adjusted angular osition bythe screws 22,22, .supported rom arms23, 23, projecting fromthe top of the sideframes 1,1. v

The shaft of the drum 15 of the lower hung upon the shaft 9 and held in adjusted angular position by screws 25,l 2,5,"'sup`ported by a standard 26. The shaft of the drum 16, at .the other end of said belt, is supported 'in asimilar yoke-frame 24, Vpivota-lly supported on another standard 26 and held 1n adjusted position by similar screws 25.

It must be understood that the means just described for supporting and adjusting the belt drums isshown by way of example only, as otherfad'justing means may be used. Also,

the most suitable angle having once been' determined, it may not be necessary to providev any adjusting means at all, in i which case'the yoke-,frames 21 may be east integral with the sidefframes. and the `volte-flames 24 with their supporting standards or tables 9.6, or be otherwise Fixedly supported. Means may also be provided to vadjust the tension of the belts, such means not being shown in the drawings, which are merely for the purpose of illustrating an operative means or combination of parts for carrying out the operation of stripping tobacco, according to the present invention.

The belt drums 15 and 1G are provided with flanges 27 on their lower ends, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and means are provided tol prevent the belt 12,1rom climbingr toward the higher ends of said drums, or moving laterally toward the path of the gripperbars. Such means may consist .of a strip QS, secured to the front edge of said belt, and a recessed'or bent bar 29, hooked over or engaging the rear side of said strip, said bar having a tubular shank 30, adjustably supported on a standard 31. To prevent thev lower belt from sagging and the upper belt from yielding upwardly, during the stripping operation, bars 32, see Fig. 4, are pro vided to bear against the inner faces of the belts, adjacent to their operativeedges, said i bars being provided with or carried between unstrippev'l leaves. .mav be. provided on the edge of the recepthe ends of pairs of arms 33, 33, mounted on the stub shafts of theintermediate sprocket- -wheels 3, 3, and held inadjusted position' thereon by set screws 34,34. If preferred, said arms may be spring-pressed 'toward the belts.

To provide for the separation of. theA unstripped or only partially stripped leaves,

of which there will inevitably occur a certain number in the operatlon of the ma-chlne,

, from the completely stripped leaves, I provide a small corrugated roller 35, carried by a vertical shaft over the belt 12 near its left or delivery end and rotated, by the pairs of beveled gears 3G and 37, sprocket. Wheels38 and 39 and chain 40,- from the shaft 8, in a riglit-liarid direction, whereby the un?A `stripped leaves are caused to'be delivered ofl the lower portion of the' belt, While lthe stripped leaves, which are of course balled up and lie on and adjacent to the stripping means 13, pass off therear portionl of' the .bf-lt, and are received in a separate compartment of a recel'itaele 52, seeFig. 3, from the A comb 51, or the like,-

'tacletofassist in removing r the stripped leaves from the bel-t. The roller 35 may be `made adjustable on its shaft to accommo-` .date variations inthe angle of the belt surface.' The. bevel gears and their shafts are supported by a bracket 41, project-ing laterally from the side-frame 1,and a tubular 'arrn'42, extending at right angles from said bracket; Other 1:; ans, such as belts,may-

used 'to drive the roller 35.

There remains to be described the connections by which the-drums 15 and 1 .9 of the belts 12 and 17 are driven intermit- :tently from the shafts 9 and 8. As these connections are the same in both cases, I will describe those'or the lower belt drive, and use the same reference numerals for the corresponding elements of the upper belt drive.

A spur pinion 43, on the shaft 9 (or 8), meshes withand drives a slur gear 44, the shaft 45 of which is journa ed in the Iyokeframe 24 (or 21). On the shaft 45 is also mounted a mutilated spur gear 47 having,

for example, teeth cut in only one-third of its periphery. Gear 47 meshes with and drives intermittently a pinion 48, the p eriphery of which has a concave to receive the'smooth portion 46 of the periphery of the gear 47, and the Shat49 of which is likewise carried by the yoke-frame-24 (or 21). The shaft 49 carries one. of a pair of .bevel gears'50, the other .of which is on the shaft of the drum 15 (or 19).

The bevel gears 5,0 being of equal size and the inion 48 considerably smaller than the mutilated gear 47, ift will be seen thatithe belts are driven rapidly during, say, onethird-of a revolution of said gear 47' and of aov the gear 44 on the same shaft 45, during which. time 'pinion 43 and shaft 9 (or 8) of the sprocket-wheel 3 will have made several. revolutions. The gripper-bars will,

come into`,conjunction to gri thestems every time the feed of the. be ts stopfand` theratio of the gearing described above will be such that the belts will be fed forward again as soon as the stems of 4one set of leaves' have beeny pulled out, so as to bring another set of leaves into position for the next set ofv grippers. YIt will be seen-that the. gripper, barsV dra-w the stems through As many changes could be made in theabove construction and many apparently widely different embodiments oftbis invention could be made Without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained. in the above description or' shoyvn in tl'ieaccompanying drawings shall be interpreted -a's illustrative and not in a limiting sense. -f

of I course, be lspaeed at such a distance apart on their chains that apair of them 'will It is also to be understood that the langua e used in the following claims is inten ed to cover all of the generic andrsgemachine compriselt;y leaf-stripping means associated with said belt, stem-griping means traveling at right angles to said elt and means to drive said belt and-stemgripping meaiis in timed relation.

2. A vtobacco stripping machine comprising, in combination, leaf-stripping means, stemripping means traveling substantially at rig it angles to said leaf-stripping means for drawing the` stems through said leafstripping means without transverse displacement of said stems, and means to drive each of 'said means in timed relation.

3. A tobacco-stripping machine comprising, in combination`- leaf-strippin `means, means coperating with said meansl or holding leaves in engagement therewith, stemgripping means traveling substantially at right angles to said4 stripping means and means to drive said stem-gripping means continuously and said stripping means and holding means intermittently.

4. A tobacco stripping machine comprising. in combination, a belt provided with leaf-stripping means adjacent one edge thereof, continuously driven chains running at right angles to said belt, a plurality of gripping-bars carried by said chains, and connections between said chains and belt for driving the latter intermittently inV timed relation with the former. f

5.- A tobacco stripping` machine comprising, in combination, a belt provided with card-cloth or the like along vone edge, a cooperating belt to press leaves down onto said card-cloth, and means to engage the stems of the leaves pro3ecting from between said belts and withdraw them from the leaves.

6. In a tobacco-stripping machine, a feed belt provided with card( teeth or the like along one edge, means to sup rt said belt with its upper surface incline `downwar 1y from said edge, a. gage adjacent to said e ge, for a portion of the lengthfof said belt,

` whereby the stems of the leaves placed on the belt will project uniformly beyond said edge, gripping means for said stems travelin at right angles to said belt from a Saint adi; ycent to said edge and means to rive saiii1 gripping means and belt in timed rela-tio i' l 7.y X tobacco stripping machine compris-` ing in combination, means for simultaneous y conveying a plurality of leaves into and holding each of them in a .leaf-conveying-and-stripping belt and they to the direction of travel of said conveying means for gripping the stems of a. plurality of leaves, and connections between said means to cause'them to move in timed relation. v

8. A tobacco-stripping machine comprising an upper pair and a lower pair of sprocket chains, a gripper-bar carried by each of said chains, operatively driven and connected sprocket wheels for said chains at the rear end of the machine, four pairs of relatively small sprocket wheels to guide said chains at the front end of the machine, whereby said gripper-bars are brought rapidly into-close proximity as their carrying chains pass around the central pairs of small sprocket wheels, a transversely inclined feeding. belt mounted with its higher edge closely adjacent tosaid central pair of small sprocket Wheels, means on said belt, adjacent to its said higher edge, to en ge and strip the leaves from the stems as t e latter are pulled out by' said gripper-bars, means,v operatively connected with said chain-driving sprocket-wheels, to drive said belt intermittently, means to' assist in positionij. tlie tobacco' leaves on. said-belt so that .f their stems will reject beyond said higher ed sufficiently or said gripper-bars 'to seize't e1 same, means to hold the leaves down on the said stripping means while said gripper-l..

' 9. Ina tobacco-stripping machine of the class described, the combination with the stem-gripper-,bar-carryingY chains, traveling normally tosaid belt, of a gage to enable the operator to position the leaves on said belt with their stems projecting, a substantially uniform distance beyond the rear edge there of, two pairs of sprocket-wheels of small diameter for each pair 'of said chains in the front portion of their travel, the intermediate pairs of said wheels being located closely adjacent to said belt edge, whereby the gripper-bars, carried by said chains, are enabled to seize the ends of said proiectin stems, and means to drive said be t an chains in timed relation.

10. In a tobacco-stripping machine of the class described, the combination with the leaf-conveyin mnd-stripping) belt and lthe stem-gripperar-carrying c ains, travei normally to said belt, of a gage to enable tlllige operator to position the leaves on said beltwith their stems projecting a substantially uniform distance beyond the rear edge thereof, so that the` gri per-bars will seize the v position to -be stripped, means traveling atright angles ends of the stems, ruins carrying said belt and driven from said chains sc as to move said belt forward after each stripping'- operation to bri a fresh set of leaves in ,position to be stripped by the .liano pair of gripper-bars, and means to prevent ateral movement of said belt toward said grlpper-bars.

11. In a tobacco-stripping machine of the class described, the combination with the leaf-conveying-a d-strippin belt and the stem-gripperar-carryin c ains, traveling normally to said'belt,` ol a gage to enable the operator to position the leaves on said belt with their stems projecting a substantially uniform distance beyond the rear edge thereof, so that the gri per-bars will seize the ends of the stems, rums carrying said belt and driven from said chains soas to move said belt forward after each stripping operation to bring a fresh set'of leaves in position to be stripped by the next succeeding pair of gripper-bars, means to hold the saidA rear edge of the belt against lateral or vertical movement throughout the portion thereof in front of the path of said gripperbars, and means located above the portion of said belt, which has passed beyond the said. path, to divert any unstripped leaves toward the front edge thereof, whereby such leaves can be delivered separately from the stripped leaves.

12. In a tobacco-stripping machine of the class described, the combination with the leaf-conveying-and-stripping belt, of drums supporting said belt, the shafts of said drums being inclined downwardly toward the front of the machine, a frame extendingat right angles to said belt, pairs of sprocketI wheels supported on said frame, pairs of chains mounted on said wheels, means to drive the latter at a constant speed, gripperbars carried by said chains, Ia yoke-frame hung on the shaftvof one'pair of said sprocket wheels and in which the shaft of one of said drums is journaled, and a gear 'trai-n-,connectin shafts and comprising a mutilate gear and pinion, whereby the drum shaft is intermittently driven from said sprocket-wheel shaft.

13. In a tobacco stripping machine of the `class described, the combination with the leaf-conveying and stripping belt, of drums supportingsaid belt, the shafts of said drums being inclined downwardly toward the front of the machine` a. frame extending at right angles to. said belt, pairsof sprocket wheels supported on said frame, pairs .of chains'mounted on said wheels, means to drive the latter ata cons-tant speed, gripperbars carried by said chains, a yoke-frame hungon the shaft. of one pair of said "sprocket wheels and in which the shaft of 'one of said drums is journaled, a presser belt mounted above said feeding and striping belt, drums supporting said presser elt, yoke-frames hung on the shaft of another pair of said sprocket wheels and supporting the shafts of said drums, means on said frame to suspend said yoke frames 'so that said shafts will be inclined upwardly toward theI front of the machine, and a gear train carried by one of said yoke frames and connecting said sprocket wheel shaft to said drum shaft, said train including a mutilated gear and ).inion and being similar to that driving tlle drum shaft and thc feeding and stripping belt, whereby said presser belt moves in unison therewith.

14. A tobacco stripping machine comprising, in combination, a belt on which leaves are placed with their stems projecting beyond one edge thereof` a strip of card-cloth secured to said belt adjacent said edge, means supporting said edge to prevent sagging, means above said edge to press leaves upon said card-cloth, means to drive said belt intermittently, and means to seize the stems and Withdraw them from the leaves while said belt is stationary.

15. In a tobacco-stripping machine, the combination of a belt on which the leaves are placed with their stems projecting beyond one edge thereof, a strip of card teeth secured to said belt adjacent said edge, stemgripping means traveling at right angles to said belt to seize said projecting stems and draw them out of the leaves and a driven roller mounted vertically above said belt to separate any unstripped leaves from those that have been properly stripped.

16. A tobacco. stripping machine comprising. in combination, means for simultaneously conveying a plurality of lea-ves into and holding each of them in a separate position to be stripped, means traveling at right angles to the direction of travel of said conveying means for gripping the stems of a plurality of leaves, and connections between said means to cause them to move in timed relation.

17. A tobacco stripping machine comprising, in combination, means for conveying leaves into and holding them in a position to be stripped, a member having exible teeth for stripping said leaves, stom gripping means traveling at right angles to the direction of travelof said conveying'me'a'ns, and connectionsl between said meansto cause them to move-in timed relation.

18. A tobacco stripping machine comprising, in combination, an element having carding teeth thereon, means 'for drawing the stems of leaves through said teeth, means to' hold leaves in position-to be stripped by said teeth, and moans to move said element' bodily from a. position where leaves may be laid upon said teeth to. a position where'the stems will be grasped by saidv 'drawing mea-ns.

19. A tobacco strippingmachine comprising, in combination, leaf-stripping means, a belt cooperating with said mcan's for holding .leaves in engagement therewith, means adjacent said leaf-stripping means for guiding said belt, means associated with 'said my hand in presence of two subscribing witguidin melans for udjustig1 tle position nesses. thereo witl respect to sai en -strippin y means, und stem-gripping' means for drawg: J'QHN O' MORRIS' 5 ing the stems through seid 1eaf-stripping vWitnesses:

means longitudinally of said stems. HOWARD A. CooMs,

ln testimony whereof I have hereunto set LOTTIE L. AnMsTnoNG. 

